Socialism in Germany

Chapter Nineteen - The Ninth Congress

PRESENTING THE REPORT of the
Central Committee to the Ninth Congress of the Socialist Unity Party of
Germany, held in Berlin during May 1976, Erich Honecker, General
Secretary, said:

"The period between the Eighth Congress and the Ninth Congress of the
Socialist Unity Party of Germany was one in which the party achieved a
vast amount. Lying behind us are five successful years in which the
working class, the co-operative farmers, the intellectuals and
professional people and all other sections of the working population
scored impressive creative achievements. These were years of
substantial progress in the building of an advanced socialist society,
years in which the central policy of our party - marked as it is by the
inseparable unity between economic and social policies - made its
impact felt in everyday life for the benefit of our socialist society
and for the benefit of each and everyone of our people."

In specific terms, the national income of the GDR had reached almost
148,000 million marks in the period under review. In the period from
1971 to 1976, nearly 760,000 dwellings had been completed and let at an
average monthly rental equivalent to no more than five per cent of the
net income of the family in occupation. Between 1967 and 1977, average
monthly earnings had increased from 653 marks to 927 marks while retail
prices, rents and fares had remained unaltered.

In looking ahead, it was necessary that the programme of the party
should "take account of and reflect the great changes" that had taken
place within the GDR and in the international standing of the GDR. The
new programme recognised that "our era is one of transition from
capitalism to socialism" and that "socialism is exerting an
increasingly decisive influence on world-wide developments." In these
circumstances the Socialist Unity Party of Germany set itself "the aim
of continuing the construction of an advanced socialist society in the
German Democratic Republic, thereby creating fundamental conditions for
the gradual transition to communism."

Space does not permit a detailed analysis of the practical points
embodied in the programme of this important congress. The main
documents are available from the Britain-GDR Society at 129 Seven
Sisters Road, London N7 7QG at very little cost and should be closely
studied. Details of membership of the society may also be had from the
same address.

Speaking at a Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Socialist
Unity Party, held in Berlin on the 24th and 25th May 1978, Erich
Honecker said:

"Thirty years of the GDR attest to the triumph of the ideas of Marx,
Engels and Lenin on German soil. It is becoming increasingly clear with
every passing day that the GDR is a genuine worker-peasant state that
represents the interests of the entire people. The earnest of our
success is the fraternal alliance with the Soviet Union and our state's
firm place in the socialist community. The GDR thus belongs to the most
powerful and influential force of our time - the socialist world
system."